Educators oppose no-homework bill
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 09:07:45 +0000
GRADE 3 student Kristina Casandra Revano (right) tries to teach one of her playmates along Philippine Railway (PNR) tracks in Sta. Mesa, Manila. The no-homework bill seek to ban elementary and high school teachers to give assignments over the weekend. Violators will face a fine of P50,000 and jail time of up to 2 years. (Jansen Romero)
Educators from both public and private schools yesterday expressed concern on the “no homework” bills noting that the proposal might promote “wrong values” among learners – thus, making the country’s education system more “problematic.”
Proposals made by lawmakers to ban homework for students in both public and private schools – across all basic education levels – did not sit well with the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) and the Federation of Associations of Private Schools & Administrators (FAPSA).
Both groups urged lawmakers, as well as the Department of Education (DepEd), which supported the bills banning home works, to rethink and reconsider the implications on both learners and the education system, as a whole.
For TDC, homework should not be seen as a burden but as an avenue to instill discipline and responsibility among learners. “Our teachers are trained educators, [so] we know the value of homework,” said TDC National Chairperson Benjo Basas.
Basas, a former public school teacher of Baesa High School in Caloocan City, noted that doing homework teaches a student not only about the subject matter, but also about good values. “Homework is not intended to make life difficult for our students,” he said.
On the contrary, Basas believed that homework was all “about discipline, responsibility and continuity of learning.” He added that doing homework also promoted quality time when family members help out the learner to complete the task at hand. “It may also strengthen family bonding – thus quality time,” he added.
Meanwhile, FAPSA President Eleazardo Kasilag warned about the impact of the “no homework” bills should they pass into law. “Our lawmakers should consider the situation in our country,” he said. “Homework helps to sustain the flow of lessons [and] banning it for non-academic reasons such as bonding time at home is contrary to the vision of education,” he added.
Given that the students do not have the “innate” discipline, Kasilag noted that “we should ban what hinders them from studying like social media, untimely malling or computer games, but not homework.”
Kasilag also lamented how the lawmakers have “practically padded our curriculum with everything” – from illegal drugs prevention, election duties, surveying, population census, disaster, nutrition, seminars and training, mass immunizations, community mapping, deworming, and feeding – among others. These efforts, he added, are nothing but “pa-pogi” points. “They are not educators they just need sustaining votes for longer power,” he added.
Earlier, Sorsogon representative Deputy Speaker Evelina Escudero filed House Bill (HB) No. 3611 which seeks to remove homework as a class requirement and limit school activities to the campus noting that “homework assignments can deprive students and parents precious quality time for rest, relaxation and interaction after school hours and even on weekends.”
Citing studies suggesting that “homework does impact upon family life,” Quezon City Representative Alfred Vargas also filed a similar proposal through HB 3883 which focus on stopping teachers from giving assignments or homework on weekends. (Merlina Malipot)